Cutting Through The Clutter

I have to admit, it has been an exhausting election year. First there were the bloody primaries, and now an even bloodier general election. At the end of the day, even though I can't vote, I'll just be glad it's over.

Part of the reason why my mind feels like a wrung sponge is because of the inundating amount of media surrounding the whole affair. It's not entirely the media's fault - they all want to be a part of something so historic, it involves every possible "ism" imaginable, and tries to transcend them all at the same time. There are commentaries, satires, reports, analyses, talk shows and freak shows, and enough YouTube and user-generated content to make even the most voracious viewers want to throw up.

I cannot even begin to imagine how tiring it must be for the candidates themselves, who plan and act upon this sort of thing over a period of three to five years. If someone had told me that I had to give the same speech, day after day, week after grueling week, for the duration of a primary and then an election (or maybe even before all of that), I would have told them they can keep the blessed presidency. On this one thing, I must say I admire McCain greatly, since the man, despite his years, health and previous losses continues to fight on as resiliently as he did when he was a young POW. But thirty-six years in the senate is a long record to look at, and to squeeze all of that into a year and half or so seems like a highly onerous task. To the laziest of voters, it's probably easier to choose Obama instead.

Animesh, in his most recent blog post pointed out that at least some staunch right-wing republicans have the guts to say, if capitalism is a failed experiment, those involved must be willing to accept the consequences of that failure, and not go bleating to the government to take them back into the fold as if they were prodigal sons. I concur wholeheartedly; with the exception of the media, where I think PBS should rule the world. With twenty days to go to the election, it was refreshing to see a Frontline documentary that went back to the question of who the candidates really are, cutting through the clutter imposed by the rest of the media giants, and by the candidates themselves.

It was an interesting program, one that threw into perspective the real reason why this is such an extraordinary election. The two men engaged in the fight are truly exceptional, not just because of who they are, where they come from, or what they have done, but because they embody leadership unlike anything seen in recent times. It explains why the two are, for all practical purposes, still neck-to-neck in the race and above all, why the choice is so important at this crucial juncture in time.

I would recommend the program to those, who, like me, think they would rather drink Mother Dairy (Operation Flood) or Heritage milk and be done with it, instead of agonizing over rows and rows of Alta Dena, Berkeley Farms, Lucerne, Horizon low fat, non-fat, whole, organic, flavoured, gallon, half-gallon, pint, half-pint milk ad nauseum, every time they go to the local supermarket.